The present invention relates to a novel and useful sound generating device for a spoked wheel.
Spoked vehicles such as bicycles are most commonly used by children. Such bicycles are decorated with accessories befitting the whimsy of the child. For example, bicycles have been adorned with streamers, horns, pin wheels, and the like. Moreover, playing cards have been attached to the frame of the bike by a clothes pin or other clip such that the playing card repeatedly strikes the spokes of the wheel when it turns. This rapidly beating noise is most delightful to children.
In the past, similar noise making attachments have been devised for bicycles and other spoked wheel vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,532 shows the attachment of an elastic balloon like member to a spoked wheel in order to produce a bubbling type sound similar to that of an internal combustion engine.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,633,097, 2,874,514, 2,894,357, and 2,940,215 describe noise making devices for bicycles which include a strip of material that is fixed to the frame of the bike by brackets, adhesive strips, or by tabs that are bent. Such attachment structures are elaborate and flimsy, at best.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,450 shows a brace which is fixed to the frame of the bike and attaches a noise making strip. The vibration is generated by the strip and transmitted to the tubular member. The degree of looseness in the tube adjusts the amount of vibration which is generated.
A sound generating device for a spoked wheel which permits the use of interchangeable strips and is durable would be a notable advance in the toy industry.